Process of sealing bottles.



A. L. BERNARDlN. PROCESS or smma BOTTLES. APPUCATION FILED APR. H. 19!?- Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

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ALFRED L. BERNARDIN, or EVANSVILLE, iNDIANA.

PROCESS OF SEALING BOTTLES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

Application filed April 11, 1917. Serial No. 161,292.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED L. BERNARDIN, a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of Evansville, in the county of Vanderburg and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Processes of Sealing Bottles, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to the capping of bottles, and more particularly to a process of sealing bottles in connection with the capping of catsup bottles and the like, wherein the bottle and cap are so constructed as to permit of the sealing of the bottle by the present process in the first instance and of subsequent use of the sealing cap during the gradual using of the contents of. the bottle after the initial breaking of the seal. p

In carrying out the present process generally, I employ a bottle and a sealing cap, the former of which has an annular shoulder below its threads, and the cap having threads capable of engaging the threads of the bottle in such manner as to completely pass the bottle threads when firmly in position. The cap is further provided with an internal sealing member for engagement with the bottle mouth and is capable of inward movement on the bottle neck under pressure to compress the said sealing member and carry its threads beyond the bottle threads and is provided at its inner end with an extension, the free edge of which is bendable into engagement with the inner edge of the shoulder of the bottle neck, so as to thus firmly hold the cap in sealed position, at the same time providing for the breaking of the seal by removal of said extension and the subsequent use of the cap in cooperation with the threads of the bottle during the gradual use of the contents of the bottle as ordinarily.

In describing the process in connection with an apparatus of the above type, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, wherein the apparatus is shown, and where- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bottle neck and cap sealed in accordance with my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section illustrating the bottle cap and bottle neckin operative relation before sealing;

Fig. 3 is a similar view with the parts sealed as in Fig. 1;

Fig. f is a horizontal section taken substantially on line 4i1 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a side view of the bottle neck as constructed to provide for the use of the present process.

I Generally speaking the present process is carried out by fitting the cap with the sealing device to the neck of the bottle, and initially interlocking the same by means of screw threads. ,Thereafter pressure is applied to any desired extent independent of the screw thread action, by means of a plunger or in any other suitable manner, and the sealing member is compressed upon a lip of the bottle neck. This compressing or sealing action it will be particularly noted, is secured independent of the screw thread action, and when the cap is under this pressure'it is locked to the neck of the bottle by bending the sealing device beneath an annular shoulder of the bottle. I thus have a process wherein containing the seal is initially interlocked with the bottle, the cap and sealing disk subsequently submitted to pressure independent of the locking means, and the cap is thereafter locked on the neck of the bottle by bending its lower end beneath the annular shoulder of the bottle. This is advantageous in that I am enabled to obtain a strong sealing pressure, and, after the bottle has been unsealed by opening or otherwise releasing that portion of the cap in engagement with the shoulder of the bottle, the cap may be utilized by virtue of the interlocking threads, as a closure during the gradual use of the contents of the bottle.

Referring now to the figures of the drawing wherein the parts necessary to the carrying out of the process are clearly shown, 10 indicates a bottle neck provided with threads 11 below its mouth 12, and with an annular shoulder 13 below the said threads 11 for the particular purpose to be presently described.

The cap 14 provided by my invention may be formed of the usual stiff or hard metal, and has an inner sealing member 15 against its top 16, this sealing member being either in the form of a disk as shown, 01' a ring, for engagement with the mouth of the bottle as clearly indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, and

may be constructed of various materials suitable in the formation of an airand liquid-tight joint, the cap having intermediate threads 17 engageable with, and completely beyond the bottle neck threads 11, so i as to thus clearly adapt the cap threads 17 for movement with the cap beyond the bottle neck threads when pressure is applied, for instance by a pressure member 18', as seen in Fig. 3, in. a suitable machine for this purpose, the action of which forces the cap inwardly upon the bottle neck, andcompresses the sealing member 15 against the bottle mouth 12.

At its inner edge the cap as thus far described has an extension band 19 which is preferably formed of comparatively soft metal in order to adapt the inner free edge thereof to be flanged or rolled beneath the inner lower edge ofthe bottle neck shoulder 13, as seen at 20 in Fig. 3, the opposite edge of the saidextension being connected to the lower inner edge of the cap bya seam21 which may be of any suitable type, as for instance an interfolded seam or a lap joint seam, but which is preferably of the bead seam type, as shown in Figs. 2 and '3, in order that the cap will, upon complete removal of the'band, remain as the usual cap for application and reapplication to the bottle neck in the regular way.

The ends of the band 19 are preferably i joined by an interfolded seal as seen at 22 in Fig. 4 in particular, one end of the band having a tongue 23 projecting beyond the seam in order to provide for ready and complete ripping or tearing of the relatively soft band completely from the cap and from engagement with the bottle neck shoulder 13 in breaking the seal in the first instance.

When formed of a soft metal as described, however, the band may be readily cut away from the bottle neck shoulder and a projecting tongue such as the tongue 23 as described may be done away with. i

It is obvious from the foregoing that, in

the sealing process, the cap 14 is applied to the bottle by hand and screwed down so that the threads of the cap not only engage with the threads of the bottle neck but pass the fastening-the entire cap in sealed position.

This seal is broken when the package is opened by tearing away the soft metal band- 19, which leaves nothing but the screw cap, so that the latter can be taken off and reappliedduring the use of the contents of the bottle in the regular way.

It is furthermore obvious that, by this process, the cap is still'left free'for subsequent use in the manner before stated, after the seal is broken, and during the gradual use of the contents of the bottle as ordinary.

I claim:

A process of sealing bottles having screw caps, whichconsists in screwing the cap containing a seal upon the bottle until the threads of the cap completely pass the threads of the bottle, and subsequently submitting the cap and seal .to pressure inde- V pendent of that exerted by the engaging threads, and thereafter locking, the cap on the neck of the bottlewith the seal under compression and independent of the threads of the cap and bottle, whereby when the cap is unlocked from the bottle, the engaging threads of the bottle and cap may be thereafter utilized to retain the cap upon the bottle in use. I

ALFRED L. BERNARDIN. Witnesses:

E. Y. TANNER,

LONA HEFELE.

Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

. Washington, D. C. I 

